Basd Approves $8.35-million Loan

The Bethlehem Area School Board approved an $8.35-million bond issue Thursday night that will be repaid over 10 years at an interest rate of 6.83 percent.

The bonds will pay for a major capital maintenance program for the district's 27 buildings and help free ordinary annual revenue to reduce a budget deficit that officials expect to reach about $5 million.

By borrowing, officials said they can implement a financial plan that will help defer a portion of the tax increases that will be required in future years. The School Board is already looking at a possible real estate tax increase of 5.1 mills for 1986-87. Projections show a 5.9-mill increase likely in 1987-88 with a 3-mill increase in each of the following two years.

An investment group known as Parker-Hunter of Pittsburgh furnished the best bid of 6.83 percent for the bond issue on Thursday. District Business Administrator A. Wilson Woolf and the district's bond counsel, David O. Twaddell of Rhoads & Sinon, Harrisburg, agreed the bid represented a "relatively low rate under the circumstances and considering other bond issues" sold elsewhere the same day.

The district has for some time had an AA rating from Moody's investment rating service, but Woolf said there was concern that this rating might be lowered because of the district's deficit and the diminished "industrial structure" in the community, due chiefly to the woes of Bethlehem Steel Corp.

As a result, Woolf said the district insured the bond issue. By thus guaranteeing investors that they will be repaid, he said, the district received a AAA rating for the issue - higher than the rating Bethlehem's bonds normally receive.

Before the School Board voted 9-0 to sell the bonds, the nine directors were told they were not committing themselves to any specific improvement projects at this time. Michael Butryn, director of buildings and grounds, has developed a list of needs at buildings throughout the district. The board will have a chance to vote later on specific spending proposals.

In other business, the board:

- Denied approval to the Northampton County Area Community College's 1986-87 budget on a 4-5 vote, although NCACC already has the support of a majority of sponsoring school boards to implement its fiscal plan July 1.

- Approved the Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School's 1986-87 budget of $3.5 million on a 7-2 vote.

- Confirmed the appointment of Anthony J. Ruggiero as acting principal of Liberty High School until Acting Superintendent Thomas J. Doluisio can return to that slot. Ruggiero has been an assistant principal at Liberty. Roberta J. Whitcomb, supervisor of the business department at Liberty, will become acting assistant principal.

- Authorized Jack Weinhofer of Whitehall Township to farm more than 30 acres of surplus land adjacent to the Hanover School through Nov. 14 at his bid price of $2,000. The district tried to sell this land a couple of months ago, but the bids came in lower than expected. Board President John F. Spirk Sr. said the property will be offered for sale again after some zoning problems have been worked out with Hanover Township.

- Approved spending $1,600 for a first-aid workshop to be held June 19 for elementary school staffers. The training will enable staffers to give first- aid to sick or injured students when school nurses are not present. Nurses are assigned to more than one building. In their absence, responsibility for providing emergency care may rest on the principal, secretary, teachers, aides, or other employees.

The NCACC budget had been rejected by the Bethlehem school directors on April 21. Since then, the college revised its fiscal plan by increasing student tuition $1 per credit hour and cutting expenses by $30,000. The revised budget asked Bethlehem to pay $991,414, which is $94,723 more than it paid this year, but $45,961 less than was being asked in the original budget draft for 1986-87.

Since enough other districts have passed the NCACC revised budget, Director James L. Broughal said Bethlehem's vote is meaningless. But he was not happy with the college's response to the April 21 vote. He said Bethlehem officials told the college they felt NCACC was guilty of "considerable overspending for administration."

Broughal said that, by cutting expenses slightly and raising tuition, NCACC did exactly what the majority of the Bethlehem directors did not want done. He said that next year he will spend considerable time going over each and every item in the college budget.

While NCACC offers a large number of programs that benefit youth, Broughal said there are an equal number that do not. He mentioned a "power squadron" instructional program for boating that costs $15. Hesaid this has nothing to do with youth and that he doubts the $15 fee is fully paying costs.